5. Reunion> Keurasang, an ordinary soldier guarding Rabilan’s southern watchtower, looked up at the sky and yawned.
“Huaaah… I really don’t know what those Taran bastards are thinking……”
For reasons unknown, Taran, located west of Rabilan, only kept watch over the Tian region and showed no particular intention of invading. Five years ago, he had assumed it was because of the Granains, but even now that every last Granain had disappeared, they merely stayed on guard, with no sign of any will to invade.
Even Keurasang, an ordinary soldier, could tell as much. In the five years he had served, there had not been a single act of provocation.
However, since he himself had taken part in the battle where they—the Kingdom of Tian—had lulled the enemy in that very way before devouring Taran’s Lagrang province, Keurasang did not let his guard down during sentry duty, even as he yawned.
As Keurasang stared up at the sky, something strange caught his eye.
Something was glittering from the eastern direction of Rabilan.
Keurasang wondered if he had seen wrong, but the light grew larger and larger, approaching Rabilan at a ferocious speed.
“What… the hell… is that… Emergency! Emergency!”
The east was not the direction of Taran’s border, but if such a suspicious object came flying in at that speed, it would cause tremendous damage even if it simply slammed into the ground.
As Keurasang rang the alarm bell, countless thoughts flashed through his mind.‘What is that… Why is it flying in from inside the country… Has Sellain been occupied? Or is it some new miracle of an enemy nation?’But despite Keurasang’s frantic ringing of the alarm bell, the red object was falling toward the ground far too quickly. It was not large, but if it crashed at that speed, the inner fortress would be shattered.
“Damn it! Why this way, too!”
As if misfortune had piled upon misfortune, Keurasang watched the comet flying toward the watchtower, squeezed his eyes shut, and threw himself flat on the ground.
It was the posture he had been trained to take when dealing with sudden tremors or explosions.
Kuuuuung!
“Uaaaah… Hm?”
There had been a sound, but when the aftershock he had expected did not occur, Keurasang slowly opened the eyes he had clenched shut and looked toward the place where the comet had struck.
Dust was billowing up from the ground, but there was no sign at all of the massive explosion Keurasang had anticipated.
As Keurasang narrowed his eyes and peered into the dust, it settled, revealing the silhouette of a figure with a magnificent build.‘Is it a monster… What kind of shoulder width is that…….’But Keurasang had been mistaken. The figure emerging from the dust was simply carrying one person on each shoulder. And both of them were vomiting from either side.
Bleeergh. Uweeegh.‘Ugh…….’They were vomiting so violently that even Keurasang, dozens of meters away, grimaced.
But Keurasang immediately found what he had to do next.
“Hup!”
Gripping a sword, Keurasang ran forward roughly and saw that their reliable comrades had already surrounded the strange man.
“Uwegh… Damn it… If you were going to do this, you should have told us!”
“What is wrong with you, seriously! It wasn’t something we had to hurry for, was it?”
“No… well……”
As if he could not even see the immense number of troops encircling him, the strange man was bickering with the two people he had been carrying on his shoulders.
Keurasang wanted to charge in at once and subdue the people bickering even in the middle of all that, but his feet simply would not move. In the first place, who could bravely rush at unknown monsters who had flown through the sky like that and landed on the ground?
He did not know for certain, but whoever charged first would be butchered first.
At that moment, Keurasang realized that the face of the figure in the dust looked somehow familiar.
A face with strong features that reminded him of Count Roman, the guardian warrior of Tian.
The instant he saw that face, the memories of the great war he had taken part in over five years ago returned to him.
Compared to back then, the man’s physique had grown larger and his features had become stronger, but Keurasang could never forget that memory.
“Sir Sian! Are you perhaps Sir Sian von Roman?”
“Hm? Do you know me?”
“Yes. I saw you once when I participated in the war long ago.”
“Oh! Glad to meet you.”
Sian looked at him with an intrigued expression when he found someone who remembered him.
“I heard you had gone missing……”
“Ah, there were circumstances, but I arrived safely like this. Could you call my brother for me?”
“Of course! Please wait here for a moment!”
And Keurasang turned to head toward the inner fortress, but there was no need.
“Hahahaha! Sian! It has been a long time! What an incredible entrance. I suppose there is no need to contact Father separately.”
Since there was no way their Gran-Vander father would fail to notice such a grand entrance, Rian said it with a laugh.
“Hehehe. It’s been a long time for you too, Brother!”The brothers, reunited after five years, embraced each other and did not let go for quite some time. A little later, after ending their intense greeting, Rian looked at Sian and spoke.
“There must be far too much to talk about for us to do it here. Let us move elsewhere and talk.”
“Sure. I have a lot I want to ask you too, Brother. Three wives, really?”
“Goodness… That is a long story. I will tell you once we go inside. Haha! But those friends are……?”
“Ah… they said they were friends of sister-in-law, so I brought them along on the way. Let’s go in together. Can you walk?”
“Ugh… Don’t touch me. I’ll walk on my own.”
“Haha……”
With an awkward laugh, Sian and the two friends followed Rian into the castle, and the gathered soldiers returned to defending their posts.
“Say hello, Sian. This is my wife, Kora-Dum. I am not sure if you have seen her before, but she is a daughter of the Deukon.”
“The Deukon tribe. I have met one before. Pleased to meet you. I am Sian.”
“Hello. I am Kora-Dum.”
Sian greeted her while recalling Kulan’s territory, and Kora-Dum studied the young master carefully.
The young master she had only ever heard about from her husband, Rian.
The stories her husband told her were full of things impossible to believe.‘Hehe. That hollow behind Lagrang province where we are holding lessons… my younger brother made that. He wiped out four mountain ridges.’‘My younger brother… they say he sacrificed himself to protect us. For a child who hated dying so much to make such a choice… it pains my heart. But I believe in him. The idea that he could be defeated by someone… I simply cannot even imagine it.’‘People call me a genius, but… they only say that because they have not seen my younger brother. And yet no rumors have spread about him, so how extraordinary must he be?’Her husband, Rian, was also a genius who would not fall short anywhere. But from what she had heard, the young master was not human. Even if only a quarter of half the stories were true, she could believe that a god of war had descended wearing human skin.
That was why she had always been curious. And why she had always wanted to see him.
The eyes of the Deukon illuminated everything. She had no ill intent, but she wanted to confirm with her own eyes just how extraordinary the young master her husband was so proud of truly was.
But contrary to her expectation that she would understand with a single glance if she saw him in person, the situation unfolded a little differently than expected.
“Hoo… So I was fighting that shell bastard that was trying to gnaw away at me……”
“My goodness… You must have suffered so much, Sian.”‘Mm… What is this…….’Kora-Dum wore a puzzled expression as she looked at Sian, who was conversing with Rian before her eyes.
She could see him, but she could not see him.
Something was visible. Something enormous and yellow. And that yellow thing was twitching as it moved.
Just as Kora-Dum was wearing a baffled expression, unable to even guess what its true identity might be, Rian spoke to her.
“Haha! Dear, you are going to bore a hole through my brother’s face. My brother is handsome, but he is a shy child, so if you look at him like that, he may feel embarrassed.”
At that moment, Kora-Dum realized what the yellow thing was.
When that enormous yellow something whirled around, what it revealed told her the identity of the yellow thing.
A long, cross-shaped slit torn through the center of the yellow sphere.
And within it, something enormous and red burned as though aflame.
At the same time Sian looked at her, Kora-Dum felt the strength leave her legs as she saw the enormous, overwhelmingly powerful eye staring at her.
“Ah… aah……”
“Hm? What is the matter, my wife?”
“Mm… It’s nothing.”
Kora-Dum said she was fine, but the sight of her sitting on the floor and panting looked anything but all right to anyone who saw her.
“Oh dear… She must be tired.”
“…
I think it is because I was nervous. I will go inside and talk with my friends, so you two should continue your conversation.”
Rian looked at Kora-Dum with concern, and Kora-Dum staggered inside together with the friends who had been standing beside her.
“I do not know why she suddenly acted like that.”
“Brother, go in and see her.”
“…
I am sorry, Sian. I will go and take care of her for a bit. I will have someone show you to a room, so rest for a while. Once Father arrives later, let us talk together then.”
With those words, Rian followed his wife inside, and Sian, guided by the servants, moved toward the room where he would rest, muttering.
“Hoho… So the Deukon tribe really is impressive. I thought she wouldn’t be able to see it……”
When one becomes a superhuman, one comes to be governed by laws different from those of the world. Put another way, it would not be wrong to say that one’s interior becomes isolated from the external dimension.
The higher that realm rises, the more severe that isolation becomes, and once one reaches Sian’s level, even most superhumans cannot sense the difference between him and an ordinary person. And yet his sister-in-law had seen something within him.
Resolving to be careful from now on, since he might startle her, Sian moved to take a rest for the first time in a long while. Until his brother and father arrived, he could unpack his things and rest.
“Tsk… Still, they really did look good together. Where is my match…….”
Sian muttered enviously as he recalled the sight of the two taking care of each other earlier.☆ ☆ ☆“Sian! I am truly glad you have returned safely!”
“Hehe. Have you been well too, Father?”
“Hoho. Every day is the same. I look at the wall facing Taran, train, then look at the wall again and train… I am nearly at the point where I can memorize how many bricks there are.”
“Hahaha! I’m glad you’ve been well.”
With Count Roman’s superhuman eyesight and instantaneous memory, it was not impossible, so Sian laughed heartily. Count Roman was calmly saying he was glad, but his relief was visibly apparent. That was why Sian smiled quietly.
While waiting for Rian, who had not yet returned, Count Roman and Sian had a long conversation. How he had been all this time, whether his body was all right, whether he had any worries…
As their conversation continued, the most important piece of news eventually came up.
“By the way… did you hear about your brother? I did write it all in the letter……”
“Hoo… I was truly surprised. Haha, it is really something to congratulate him for. I regret that I could not attend the wedding.”
“Yes. Have you met all three?”
“No. I have only met my first sister-in-law so far. Are the other two not here?”
“Mm… They were training at a place a little distance away. They probably saw you flying in… so they will arrive soon.”
He himself had seen the meteor flying violently this way and rushed here. His daughters-in-law had good eyes as well, so they would soon arrive here.
Sian had many things he wanted to ask, but first, he recalled the two people who had been in the letters and asked after them.
“Where are Sir Celine and Lady Steel? Judging by the letters, it seemed they were here.”
“That child Celine was training with two of my daughters-in-law, so she will come… And Sir Steel? Do you mean Stantal I?”
“Yes. The letters clearly said……”
“What do you mean by saying that person is here?”
“Yes?”
At his father’s words, as though he had no idea what Sian was talking about, Sian unconsciously answered with a bewildered expression.
“Lady Steel cannot be contacted at all?”
“That is right……”
And his father told him at length what Lady Steel had done for them all this time.Five years ago, someone visited Count Roman’s room while he was guarding the border. It was a militarily vital location protected by ironclad security, but to the one who had come to see Count Roman, such things held no meaning at all.
For they were beings above humans—superhumans.
Rian did not yet have access to information of that level, so he had not known, but Count Roman of Gran-Bander knew about Steel.
That was why, when Steel first came to see him, he could hardly keep his wits about him. There was no reason for a great superhuman who had shattered a mountain range together with his son to seek him out. At first, Count Roman thought Steel had come to vent his anger on him, and he had prepared himself for death.
And then Steel told him something hard to believe.
That Sian had decided to fight a terrible being of his own will in order to save them.
And that even Steel himself did not know when that battle would end.
Steel said with a smile that he had come to tell him this.
Even as he listened, Count Roman was dumbfounded.
Because he had spoken at length with His Majesty King Narasha, he knew well what sort of beings superhumans were. And that they regarded people as ants.
Moreover, even when Stantal I had been human, he had been notorious for his ferocity. There was no reason for him to show them such kindness.
So Count Roman risked danger and asked Stantal I a question. If he had meant to kill him, he would have done so already.
Only then did Count Roman begin to understand this absurd situation. And the reason his head was still attached to his neck.
With those words, Stantal I vanished without a trace, and Count Roman informed Rian and his wife Celine of the matter, then also conveyed it to Sir Selin, whom Sian had usually been close to. Everyone was saddened, but at the same time, they did not fall into despair. The Sian they knew did not seem like someone who would die anywhere.
He had not told His Majesty the King because he thought there was no need for him to know, but somehow, the king had learned of it and came to see him.
Then he made a proposal.
Then His Majesty King Narasha made a steel pillar that looked as though it would stand out well, placed inside it an identity token, clothes, money, a bag, and other items, and set it up there.
As they were about to erect that pillar on the land where Sian was said to be buried, Stantal I suddenly appeared from somewhere and said,
For what reason…?>
At Stantal I’s powerful insistence, a letterbox that had not been part of the original plan was created, and the family all approved of the idea, as though they did not think it was bad. If Sian came out, it would be a great help in adapting to the years that had passed.
“…
And that is how you came to find us like this. Since then, we have not seen Sir Steel.”
“…
Huh…”
Sian was bewildered because the situation differed from what had been written in the letter. Though there had only been one letter from Miss Steel, it had definitely contained something different from the present situation.
‘I’ll have to look into what happened a little more.’
Knowing Miss Steel’s personality, she would not do something so miserable as hide away to protect his family. In truth, this much was already her doing her best. There was nothing good for her in deliberately getting involved with ants.
That was why Sian had assumed Miss Steel would be living in great comfort while receiving Uncle Narasha’s hospitality, but when he arrived, his family and everyone involved said they had not seen even Miss Steel’s shadow since then, which was strange.
But if a superhuman decided to hide, there was nothing even he could do. And if she was somewhere, she would hear the news and come find him, so Sian decided to put his mind at ease.
“Ahem… ahem… Sian.”
Seeing Sian lost in thought, Count Roman spoke to him.
“Yes, Father?”
“I… would approve if it were that person.”
“…….”
“No… well… aren’t you about at the age where you should start finding a partner?”
Count Roman was vague about it, but his concern was sincere.
His son was still living like a human for now, but Count Roman had always worried about him.
He did not know when Sian might abandon his heart as a human and live as a superhuman. If that happened, then in this vast world, throughout the long life still remaining to him, Sian would be left alone. He might be called a superhuman, but in the eyes of Count Roman, his father, he was still a child who needed family. That was why he needed someone who would care for him.
But they, as humans, could not do it. They could only do their best in the present. From what he had heard, superhumans lived for hundreds of years. The only beings who could share such long years with him were other superhumans. That child Selin also pleased Count Roman, but unfortunately, she could not remain by Sian’s side as a superhuman.
In his eyes, that child Sian did not seem to have no feelings, either. Because he had no experience in romance, he himself did not seem to know it—or perhaps he was denying it to himself—but to Count Roman, Sian also had some degree of feeling for Stantal I. Otherwise, that child, who had no interest in anyone other than his family, would not have searched for Steel.
“Come on… At my age, what are you talking about…? And since it looks like Brother will carry on the family line, I feel relieved. Three of them, though…”
“Haha! Well, think about it slowly. There is no hurry. It seems everyone should be gathered by now, so let us go down.”
“Yes, Father.”
And Count Roman and Sian moved to another room.
People had already gathered downstairs.
Perhaps she had been more shocked than expected, but Miss Kora-Doom was nowhere to be seen. Nor were the friends he had brought this time. They were probably talking with Miss Kora-Doom.
And among those present was also a welcome face.
“Sian! You really did come back alive. Haha!”
“Heh… Have you ever seen me go looking for a place to die?”
Selin welcomed Sian warmly after so long, and Sian replied with a joke as well. He truly had almost died, but there was no need to bring that up in a place like this and make everyone worry. At the very least, everyone here was sincerely worried about him, and they were also people he sincerely had to look after.
“Haha. I heard about you in your elder brother’s letter, but this is the first time we have met.”
“Ah, that’s right! Sian, let me introduce you. This is… in the kingdom’s language, her name is Kukraksha.”
“…
It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Kukraksha.”
“Hehe. A pleasure.”
Sian was at a loss as he looked at Miss Kukraksha before him. No matter how much love transcended species.
“You are of the beastfolk. Might you be of the Targang tribe?”
“You recognize it. Hehe.”
‘She gives off a feeling like Miss Steel…’
The person who would become his second sister-in-law was a beastfolk, and not just any beastfolk, but one of the Targang tribe, famous for the immense martial strength of each individual.
Though the beastfolk did not gather in groups and lived in family units, which left them inferior to humans in terms of influence, and though they were currently scattered through the Con-Tian Mountains and the Broshan Mountains, each individual’s martial power was so great that comparing them to humans felt almost insulting.
Born with tremendous strength, reflexes, and stamina, they grew stronger as they aged, and when they reached an age at which seven stripes appeared on their foreheads, they became a mighty race capable of contending even with Gran-Banders.
Miss Kukraksha before him did not seem to be at that level, but the five stripes clearly marked on her forehead showed that she was a powerhouse who could not be ignored. Judging from her presence, even if she fought his brother, she did not seem likely to be pushed back much.
That was why Sian found it incredibly fascinating. The beastfolk—especially the Targang tribe, famed for being powerful and ferocious—were not beings one could easily see. Unlike the Dkon tribe, who were small in number but lived harmoniously with humans, the Targang spent their entire lives in the forest, so most ordinary humans never encountered one even once in their lifetime. He was intensely curious about how his brother had ended up marrying a woman of such a Targang tribe.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Sian asked,
“Um… how did you come to meet my brother?”
“Haha… well, that…”
“Ah, if it is difficult, you do not have to tell me.”
Rian stepped in on behalf of Miss Kukraksha, who looked troubled.
“Everyone knows the story, so you, as my younger brother, should know it too. Back when I went to Traan Street under royal command…”
And with that, Rian told him a grand epic. But Sian succeeded in summarizing it simply.
‘What, so he raided the black market on Traan Street, and in the middle of it, he rescued Miss Kukraksha, who had been imprisoned there, and then they fell for each other?’
Sian was dumbfounded. In the past, Miss Steel had definitely said that beings like beastfolk or daughters of noble families could not be found in slave markets or black markets. And to Sian, that had seemed true as well.
But when his brother raided Traan Street right under their noses, ta-da! A beastfolk appeared, and not only that, he had ended up marrying her.
It was like digging in the backyard and finding piles of gold and silver treasure buried thirty centimeters deep.
‘No… is he seriously some kind of protagonist…?’
Still, he could understand a romance with a student. In Sian’s eyes, his brother was a wonderful person, so it was not strange for romance to happen. But wasn’t this too much?
While Sian was inwardly dumbfounded, Rian stepped forward, saying he would introduce someone else.
“Right. And this is… Sian, you read about her in the letter too, didn’t you? This is Miss Veronica, whom I will be marrying this time.”
“Hello, Young Master Sian. I have heard a great deal about you. Hehe. It is a pleasure to meet you.”
‘Huh…?’
A familiar scent he had smelled somewhere before.
“Do you perhaps… know someone named Rimainu?”
“Mm… Rimainu?”
“Yes. That is…”
And Sian began to describe the person’s appearance in detail.
As Veronica listened, her expression grew more and more surprised, until at last she could not hold back and spoke.
“It seems the person you are talking about is someone I know. Just where did you see my younger sister?”
‘Wow…’
Veronica stared at Sian in astonishment at his words, and Sian, who had always liked his brother to begin with but from this moment on decided to respect him, looked toward Rian.
Veronica.
The baptismal name she had used in the world where she had originally lived.
It was not as though she had been especially devout, but after falling into this place, the only being she could seek out was God, and she also needed a name to use here, so it was the name that had come to mind while searching.
She had told no one that she had come from another dimension. If she said such a thing, it would be perfect grounds to be treated as a madwoman, and if she was unlucky, she might be dragged off to a place called the Great Law Assembly and turned into an experimental guinea pig.
This place was not exactly a good place for a woman to live, especially not a beautiful woman like herself.
Black hair and black eyes were traits not easily found even in this dimension where many races lived, and in this world ruled by violence, the position of women was relatively lower. In fact, in the less than three years since she had fallen into this place, she had faced countless threats.
There were only two reasons she had been able to protect herself until now.
One was the special ability she had gained when she fell into this place, and the other was the new bond she had met here one year ago—her husband. After meeting her husband, she gained a perfect haven.
‘Ha… No matter how many times I see him, he’s handsome.’
Even when she had lived in that world, she had been terribly weak to good looks, but her husband, Rian, exceeded imagination. Among the thousands, tens of thousands of people she had met until now, there had been no one more handsome than her husband.
Moreover, he was capable, from a good family, and had a good personality—a husband as though sculpted by God Himself.
Although there were two other wives, that was something she could fully accept. Although polygamy had been an unusual culture where she used to live, now that she had crossed over to this world, she resolved to adapt to it.
Fortunately, perhaps because all three were of different races, jealousy or envy was not significant, and though there was still some awkwardness between them, all three had grown somewhat close.
As they grew close and lived under one roof, opportunities to converse naturally increased.
One day, as they conversed, they ended up bringing up a topic that all three had been curious about but had kept buried in their hearts because it was awkward to ask.
Not many people knew the Young Master. That was certain.
The Roman family’s fame resounded far and wide—to the extent that even she, who had not long since arrived in this world, could know of it.
In this world ruled by violence, a family standing at its apex, looking down upon society.
Few in number, but therefore all the greater—Tihan’s martial family, the House of Roman.
Tihan’s guardian martial force, the great Grand
-Bander, Cain von Roman.
The great prodigy born of the House of Roman, Lian von Roman.
There was no one in Tihan who didn’t know the two of them. No, their fame resounded even to other nations. They were essentially celebrities of the entire continent.
But rumors about the second son, Sian von Roman, had not spread much.
No, to be precise, they had spread, but their veracity was uncertain. Because there were so many absurd rumors.
Rumors akin to internet rumors or urban legends that had circulated in their own world.
If those words were true, he was a walking tactical nuclear weapon. No, more than that. No matter how powerful a nuclear weapon, it couldn’t erase that vast mountain range.
At first, she had thought the crater in the Ragran region shown by her husband was the mark of some meteorite fall. But her husband’s following words made her doubt her ears.
‘Haha. It’s a secret, but since you’re becoming family now, I thought you should know. The truth is….’
‘Crazy… a human made that?’
At first, she thought it was some new joke by her husband. But seeing his serious expression, it was not.
Moreover, he said it wasn’t something dug out on purpose. It was merely a hollowed-out trace from quarreling and fighting.
From then on, her curiosity about the Young Master, whom she had never even laid eyes on, grew ever greater. And it seemed her older sisters of different ages felt similarly.
But because what they knew was so little—or to be precise, since what they each knew was more or less the same—nothing was cleanly resolved, and only their curiosity continued to grow.
Then one day, while training far away with her older sister Kukuraksha and Sir Celine of Dragona, she saw something like a red comet flying from afar.
When she and Kukuraksha started in surprise, worried about their husband, Sir Celine cried out with an expression full of delight.
‘He’s here!’
And without even telling them what had come, he started running toward where the comet was falling.
She and Kukuraksha shrugged and chased after him. They were curious about what was happening. And upon arriving, they heard surprising news.
That the Young Master they had been so curious about had arrived after five years. Literally like a comet.
‘Hmm… he’s ordinary?’
The first impression wasn’t particularly special.
She had thought perhaps he would be over three meters tall with a rugged appearance, holding something like a massive hammer made of dragon bone. At least, if he was a man who could smash a mountain range with his bare hands, that was the image he should have.
But he was extremely ordinary. Rather, compared to her father-in-law, who seemed suffocating just to look at, or her husband, who possessed an intense sense of intimidation, his appearance was far too ordinary. Though he was somewhat larger in build than the stories suggested, it was an understandable change since he was in the middle of his growth period.
But it seemed he truly was no ordinary person. She was greatly surprised by the words he tossed out the moment he saw her.
And the explanation that followed. It matched exactly the description of a certain person she knew.
Rimainu, real name Yi Man-woo.
Hearing the name of her younger sibling, who had fallen while their carriage was moving near a cliff and could not be found no matter how much they searched, Yi Mina was startled.
“So… you saw him in Kerval five years ago?”
“Yes. I haven’t seen him since then… but he was definitely there at that time.”
“Ha… so he was alive.”
Veronica, who had put on a relieved expression and sighed in relief, suddenly changed complexion.
“Wait… if it’s Kerval… do you mean that city that was completely reduced to ruins?”
As far as Veronica knew, Kerval had already been completely reduced to ruins before she arrived in this world. It was currently a wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew, so to hear that he had seen her younger brother there… Veronica felt something ominous.
“That’s right.”
“When did you see that child?”
“Um… well… three days before that place was turned to dust….”
“Gasp….”
Veronica staggered instantly. Though she possessed powerful mental strength as an Exer, she was not at a level to maintain her composure upon hearing that the only blood relative who might be alive in this foreign world could be dead.
She might not have known if he was alive, but because she heard the news of his death right after hearing he was alive, the shock was doubled.
“My lady, are you alright?”
“Phew… no. I was just a little surprised….”
“Go in and rest a while. We will see each other often from now on, so let us just exchange greetings today.”
“That’s right. Please go in, sister-in-law.”
Count Roman spoke, and Sian chimed in. Her face had turned deathly pale; it was obvious the shock was great.
“Then… excuse me.”
‘Goodness… everyone is so mentally weak like that….’
Kukuraksha clicked her tongue, watching Veronica stagger away.
‘Still… is he really that strong? I can’t really tell….’
Already, seeing that he had defeated both Cora
-Doom and Veronica, he seemed quite skilled in mental attacks, but it didn’t show on the outside at all.
Of course, there was no doubting his strength. What Kukuraksha was curious about was something else.
“But… if the Young Master was over there all this time… does everyone know what became of the Granains?”
Kukuraksha asked, using odd expressions perhaps because she was still not fully adapted to human culture.
Since everyone had been wondering, they all focused their gazes.
The Granains, a powerful race. Opinions were still divided on how they had all disappeared overnight.
“Hmm… I suppose they’re all dead.”
“Them?”
“Well… if their entire bodies were turned to dust, they probably aren’t alive.”
Moreover, the energy source that had supplied them with immortal life had been devoured by him long ago. He had tried out of curiosity to see if he could make such guards himself, but it was impossible.
“Huh… their entire bodies turned to dust. Who on earth would do that to them when they were living peacefully….”
“Haha… I wonder….”
Sian had originally intended to proudly say that he had defeated them himself, but seeing the atmosphere of the people, he felt they might regard him as some serial killer, so he decided to close his mouth. Come to think of it, those who hadn’t been at the scene wouldn’t have known what state the Granains were in.
‘Ah, now that I think of it… I wonder if Miss Steel took care of the Crona
-Pon. I don’t need it anymore, so maybe I should have just given it to Miss Steel and left….’
Miss Steel had been coveting it at the time, so he should have just given it to her and left. It was an item Sian no longer needed.
After various talk, Lian asked with a worried expression.
“But Sian… I heard you fought some strange shell and came back. If it was dangerous enough to threaten you, it must be an extremely dangerous substance… so what happened to it? Did you destroy it all?”
Hearing this, everyone around focused their gazes on Sian.
Now that they heard it, that was true. A shell dangerous enough to threaten Sian, who was a superhuman. They hadn’t heard the full story, but whatever its identity, it was undoubtedly an extremely dangerous substance, and if such a thing still remained in the Ragran region, they couldn’t be at ease.
If need be, it was a situation where they would have to uproot and move all the surrounding residents and the entirety of Gron
-Pilla.
But Sian smiled leisurely.
“Hehe. Hyung, you don’t need to worry.”
‘And anyway, I couldn’t have come out without devouring that guy completely….’
If he hadn’t devoured that fellow, he would still be stuck underground in the first place.
‘Should I show them?’ Sian wanted to show off what he had gained this time.
A new power that had rendered the Crona
-Pon useless to him.
Showing off strength would only look like a threat to others, but with this, it was good for showing and others wouldn’t be afraid.
Though it had affected Cora
-Doom, his sister-in-law, the others wouldn’t notice.
To ease the tension of the people who were still worried, Sian decided to show just a little.
“I took care of it all and came back. I’ll show you. Everyone, please step back a little.”
Having moved the puzzled people back briefly, Sian cleared the dining table and stood in the center of them.
Soon Sian took a deep breath and drew up his power.
Because he drew it up slowly to show them, everyone around could clearly observe the changes happening in Sian’s body.
A small scale on the back of Sian’s neck, which no one had ever seen until now.
That scale was swelling at a rapid speed.
Because it was such a small scale, even though it swelled rapidly, it took time to cover his body, but as the area it covered grew wider and wider, the speed at which the scale covered his body also grew faster.
Before long, when the scales covered his neck, traveled down his chest, abdomen, legs, and arms, Sian looked completely different from just moments before.
Sleek red skin. Though clearly covered in scales, because each individual scale was so small, it didn’t feel reptilian at all. Rather, it felt like red metal wrapping his skin without gaps.
Ivory-colored plates with a strange glow grew across his entire body, reinforcing his whole body. If the red metal was chain mail, the ivory plates were like full plates, thickly covering the red scales.
Watching Sian transform in an instant into something more like a heavily armed combat weapon than a person, Count Roman asked with a displeased expression.
“Uh… Sian, what on earth is that?”
“Hehe. When I devoured that shell fellow, it grew out of my body.”
To be precise, it grew in the direction he wanted.
The scales, which had boasted tremendous volume, were compressed and compressed, covering his body.
The horns of that fellow, which looked sturdy just to behold, clumped together firmly and transformed into something like tiny seeds, then covered his body once more based on the scales that already covered it. Like armor.
‘Hehehehe….’ In fact, Sian liked this armor he had obtained this time even more than his innate power that had crossed yet another wall.
He liked that it enhanced his combat power, but more than that, it was because it looked so cool!
Perhaps because it grew in the direction he wanted, Sian liked this armor so much.
Sian looked at the people through the gaps of the scales covering his body and spoke.
“There is nothing left there now, so you can rest assured… huh?”
“What’s wrong? Sian? Gasp!”
When Lian looked in the direction Sian was looking while letting out a shallow groan, he saw Kukuraksha collapsed and trembling.
“Goodness! What happened?”
“Urk… uhh….”
Lian, who examined Kukuraksha trembling and groaning, realized she only had mild fainting symptoms and sighed in relief, but he couldn’t leave her like this, so he picked her up and hurriedly carried her to the infirmary.
Count Roman and the mother, Celinne, followed Lian in, leaving only Celine and Sian in the reception room.
“Wow! Sian, amazing.”
“….”
“You’re probably the only one who’s knocked out all three sisters-in-law on the first meeting day.”
“….”
Sian was trying to figure out where things had gone wrong, then sighed at Celine’s words.